Broncos coach John Ralston, left, shares some of his plays with Don Coryell in 1975. (Millard Smith, The Denver Post)

Those were the days. In May 1975, then Broncos coach John Ralston and Cardinals coach Don Coryell shared some of their coaching techniques in an “information exchange” at Bronco headquarters. Both coaches and their staffs participated in the clinic, in which they exchanged coaching philosophies and plays.

The session didn’t do much for the Broncos that season, however. They finished second in the AFC West with a 6-8 record and failed to make the playoffs once again.

Broncos kicker Connor Barth made 10 of 11 field goals in four December games. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)

John Elway got his share of credit for signing free agents DeMarcus Ware, T.J. Ward, Emmanuel Sanders and Aqib Talib during the offseason, all of whom were named to the Pro Bowl except Sanders, who was arguably the most deserving with 101 catches for 1,404 yards.

Underrated in general manager Elway’s roster transactions was his late-season signing of kicker Connor Barth. Simply put, the move changed a weakness into a strength. Barth was on Wednesday named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month after he made 10 of 11 field goals in four December games.

“I’ve got to give credit to, obviously, my field goal protection team, and Britton (Colquitt) and (Aaron) Brewer do a great job of the snap and hold,” Barth said. “They make it easy on me. When I came in here, the first day we meshed because they do such a great job with getting the laces being out, Britton getting it down. So it just makes it easy on me. I couldn’t do it without the offense and defense playing their butts off during the games. The last thing you want to do is miss a kick after they’ve marched down the field, so I’m just trying to do my job and take it one kick at a time. It’s all worked out so far.”Read more…

Brock Osweiler scrambles before finding Virgil Green in the end zone late in the Broncos’ victory over the Raiders. (Tim Rasmussen, The Denver Post)

Brock Osweiler’s touchdown pass to Virgil Green with about two minutes remaining in Denver’s victory over the Raiders on Sunday has been well-documented: Osweiler first finds Green for a 38-yard catch up the middle on third-and-10. Then, three plays later on third-and-1, hits him in the right corner of the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown.

It was the first score for both of them, and it had been in the works for months now, thanks to Peyton Manning.

On Monday, when asked about the touchdown, Osweiler told reporters that he was relieved it was finally behind him, while also admitting he had some help. The play was called by Manning.

But wait. It gets better.

“I know Brock’s been waiting forever,” Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase said Wednesday. “Every time he would go in he’s like, ‘We’re throwing it, right?’ And I’m like, ‘No.’ You try to give him a little bit of hope. It was good that coach (John) Fox gave us a green light. The starting quarterback was killing me that we weren’t going to throw it there on the third-and-1. He talked Fox into it. He knew what Virg could do. It was a good call by Peyton.”Read more…

Chris Harris Jr. puts up four fingers after the Broncos clinched their fourth consecutive AFC West title. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

The Broncos announced on Wednesday that cornerback Chris Harris Jr. was selected as the team’s 2014 Ed Block Courage Award winner, given to players who show “exceptional courage, great character and inspiring effort.”

Harris, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament in Denver’s AFC division playoff game last January, returned this season to make his first Pro Bowl and total 55 tackles (51 solo), three interceptions and a team-high 18 passes defended.

Harris was rated as the NFL’s top cornerback by Pro Football Focus and ranked first in the NFL with a 47.8 quarterback rating against him, not allowing a single touchdown this season.Read more…

C.J. Anderson rushed for three touchdowns in the Broncos’ Week 17 victory over the Raiders. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

Running back C.J. Anderson was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week after his three-touchdown performance against the Raiders on Sunday, the Broncos announced.

The honor is the first conference award of Anderson’s career and the fourth of its kind for the Broncos this season; Julius Thomas (Week 1), Demaryius Thomas (Week 5) and Peyton Manning (Week 7) previously won the award.

In the Broncos’ 47-14 victory over the Raiders in their final game of the regular season, Anderson recorded 87 yards on 13 carries in addition to the three scores, and caught two passes for 20 yards.

Sunday was Anderson’s second game this season with three touchdowns (he had three in Week 14 against Buffalo), making him and former Broncos running back Terrell Davis as the only players in franchise history with multiple games in a season rushing for at least three touchdowns.Read more…

Those three teams have one thing in common: Talented quarterbacks who have led their teams to at least one conference championship game but are coming off disappointing seasons. Cutler has been perhaps the NFL’s most underachieving quarterback the past three years.

A first-round draft choice of the Broncos in 2006, Cutler earned a Pro-Bowl berth in 2008. But when the Broncos fired longtime coach Mike Shanahan after the 2008 season, Cutler demanded to be traded both in the days before and weeks after the team hired Josh McDaniels as their new coach and head of football operations.Read more…

Peyton Manning and the Broncos defeated the Raiders on Sunday to secure a first-round playoff bye. (Steve Nehf, The Denver Post)

Single-game tickets for the Broncos’ AFC divisional playoff game — to be played Jan. 11, 2015, at 2:40 p.m. at Sports Authority Field — will go on sale to the general public on Monday at 3 p.m., the team announced.

Tickets can be purchased via Ticketmaster or by calling 1-800-745-3000. They will not available at the Broncos ticket office until Tuesday, if any remain by then.

Prices range from $70-$215 for reserved seats and $275-$450 for club seats. There is a limit of four tickets per household.

Peyton Manning hands off to C.J. Anderson, who had three rushing touchdowns in the Broncos’ victory. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)

In their final game of the regular season, the Denver Broncos defeated the Oakland Raiders, 47-14, at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on Sunday to secure a first-round playoff bye. Here were the notable and not-so-notable moments from the victory.

BESTS

D.T. makes history: Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas broke Rod Smith’s single-season record of 1,602 receiving yards. Thomas eclipsed the mark in the second quarter as he produced his 10th, 100-yard game this season. Signing Thomas to a longterm contract remains a priority for the Broncos.

Go Wes, young man: Wes Welker returned back-to-back punts for 18 and 19 yards, and recovered a fumble to prevent a short field for the Raiders.

Run to daylight: Omar Bolden is bold, man. He took the second-half kick six yards deep in the end zone and returned it 76 yards, one shy of his season-high set against the Bengals.

WORSTS

Going the wrong way: Peyton Manning suffered an unusual turnover. He threw a backward pass to Emmanuel Sanders that Justin Tuck deflected. Keith McGill scooped it up and ran for a touchdown. Manning, meanwhile, was tagged for a five-yard loss and a fumble.

Julius Thomas’s role reduced: The Broncos continue to grapple with ways to fit tight end Julius Thomas into their new balanced offense. He played minimally in the first half, flexed out as a receiver and serving primarily as a decoy.

Franklin, Bruton hurt: Left guard Orlando Franklin and David Bruton suffered concussions. Bruton was taken to the hospital after a brutal hit late in the game.Read more…

With about five minutes left in the fourth and the Broncos ahead, 33-14, safety David Bruton Jr. took a brutal hit from behind from Oakland defensive end Denico Autry.

Bruton had to be carted off the field and, minutes later, was ruled out with a concussion, possibly more.

Bruton waived to the crowd as he was rolled through the tunnel, a good sign after he appeared to injure his neck on the play. He was immediately put into an ambulance and taken to the hospital to undergo further tests. Read more…

With a first-round playoff bye on the line, the Denver Broncos (11-4) host the Oakland Raiders (3-12) at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on Sunday in the final game of the regular season. The Denver Post’s Mike Klis, Troy E. Renck, Mark Kiszla and Benjamin Hochman join Robin Carlin to break down the Week 17 matchup.

T.J. Ward was helped off the field after injuring his neck in last Monday’s game against the Bengals. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

After not practicing all week because of a sprained neck, Broncos strong safety T.J. Ward will not play Sunday in the season finale against the Oakland Raiders.

Ward’s neck was stiff all week and the Broncos are expected to err on the side of caution. With Ward down, David Bruton is expected to get his first start since the 2011 season second-round playoff game at New England.

What’s up: The 11-4 Packers and 11-4 Lions are meeting for the NFC North title. The winner probably will be the NFC’s No. 2 playoff seed, which comes with a first-round bye and a second-round home game. The loser probably will be the No. 5 seed, which means playing a first-round game on the road. Rodgers has an opportunity to clinch his second MVP award. He is the leading candidate, although the hype machine has started pushing Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.

Background: Brock Osweiler, take heart. Rodgers was a first-round draft pick in 2005, No. 24 overall, and didn’t make his first NFL start until 2008. He was sensational in three of four postseason games in 2010, throwing zero picks in playoff wins at Philadelphia, at Atlanta and against Pittsburgh in the Pack’s victorious Super Bowl. Then he had the most efficient passing season in league history in 2011, when he threw for 45 touchdowns and 4,643 yards (six interceptions) in 15 games (14-1) for a record 122.5 rating. Osweiler was the Broncos’ second-round draft pick in 2012. He has sat for three years. One big difference: Osweiler’s incumbent legend, Peyton Manning, isn’t indecisive about coming back for another year. Brett Favre dawdled just enough for the Packers to move on to Rodgers to take over in 2008.

Klis’ take: The MVP race will come down to how Rodgers plays Sunday against Detroit. Win and throw a couple of TD passes, and Rodgers should win the MVP award decisively. He has 750 more yards passing than Romo, four more TD passes and three fewer interceptions. But Rodgers could be hampered by a strained calf, cold weather and a Detroit defense that ranks No. 2 in total yards and points allowed. To prepare for the big game, Rodgers showed his offensive linemen love by buying each of them a 55-inch, flat-screen LED TV for Christmas. His blockers need to reciprocate against Ndamukong Suh-led Detroit.

Peyton Manning has two more years left on his contract and he’s stated previously he plans on playing out that contract.

But because he’s 38 years old, and because those final two years are not guaranteed, there’s always a question how much longer he will play. Manning said during his press conference Wednesday he does not plan on retiring any time soon.

Denver Broncos running back C.J. Anderson is tackled by the Bengals’ Steven Johnson during the first half of an NFL football game Monday, Dec. 22, 2014, in Cincinnati. (Michael Conroy, The Associated Press)

Denver Broncos strong safety T.J. Ward is helped off the field after getting injured during the fourth quarter after putting a hit on Cincinnati Bengals running back Giovani Bernard (25) on Dec. 22, 2014, at Paul Brown Stadium. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

CINCINNATI — Broncos strong safety T.J. Ward watched the replay of the injury on his phone, the image confirming the scare he received Monday night. After a hard tackle, his head turned slightly as players piled onto him. His neck pulled back awkwardly. Ward lay motionless for a few seconds. He would not say whether he lost feeling in his legs.

“I’d rather not talk about all that until I have more tests (Tuesday),” said Ward, who was able to walk off the field and traveled back to Denver with the team. “I appreciate all of the concern.”

Ward underwent X-Rays at the stadium, and they were negative. He has experienced several “stingers” while playing professionally.

The Broncos fell to the Bengals, 37-28, in Cincinnati as Peyton Manning threw four interceptions and the Broncos as a whole looked listless. Here were the notable and not-so-notable moments from the Denver loss.

BESTS

Talib with TD: Aqib Talib scored his second touchdown, rambling 33 yards after a diving first-quarter interception. He grabbed a pass tipped by receiver A.J. Green. The bad news? It was the Broncos’ best play in the first half.

Bolden big time: Omar Bolden breathed life into the Broncos with a 77-yard kickoff return to open the second half. Bolden has provided a boost on returns after the pedestrian performance by Andre Caldwell.

Fullback duty: Ben Garland, an offensive guard, found a role in the back field. He served as a fullback and lead blocker on C.J. Anderson’s third-quarter touchdown run.

WORSTS

Hill of means: Jeremy Hill remains a rookie-of-the-year candidate. He turned the Broncos’ defense into traffic cones, eclipsing 100 yards rushing in the first half. His 85-yard touchdown run represented the second-longest against the Broncos.

Third-string problems: Weakside linebacker Todd Davis, a waiver-wire claim from the Saints, is a great story, but he wasn’t ready for prime-time, missing multiple tackles.

Ward injured: T.J. Ward delivered a hard hit in the fourth-quarter and walked off the field with help from trainers after suffering a neck injury.Read more…

The Broncos received a scare with a little more than eight minutes left in the fourth quarter as safety T.J. Ward struggled to get up after a tackle.

Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton shoveled a two-yard pass to Giovani Bernard, who was brought down by Ward at the Broncos’ 5-yard line. As Ward went in for the tackle, his neck appeared to snap back against Bernard’s leg.

Bernard easily got up after the tackle, but Ward stayed down, barely moving. His teammates, as well as Bengals players, circled around him on one knee as the team’s trainers came out to tend to him as he lay on the field.

Mike Klis has been with The Denver Post since 1998, after working 13 years with the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph. Major League Baseball was Klis' initial passion. He started covering the Colorado Rockies after Coors Field was approved for construction in August 1990.

Nicki Jhabvala is the Sports Digital News Editor for The Denver Post. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor, and she was most recently the overnight home page editor at the New York Times. She has reported regularly on the Broncos since joining the staff.

A published author and award-winning journalist, Benjamin Hochman is a sports columnist for The Denver Post. He previously worked on the staff of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, winners of two Pulitzer Prizes for their Hurricane Katrina coverage.